Chapter 39: ~Chapter 12~ Part 4

It was a little after ten PM when my phone rang, almost on schedule. I was in the middle of looking up just what character-archetype fit Snowy the best. Stepford-smiler? The Pretender? The Vamp? The Vamp Pretender? More research was needed in that direction.

Anyways, I reached over my desk, right where I put my phone when I came home after I dropped the princess off in front of her gates earlier that afternoon. I didn't even look at the caller ID before I accepted the call.

"You know, I love these evening talks, but we should really bring them an hour earlier. You are not getting any quality sleep like this." There was only silence on the other end of the line, so I added a tentative "Hello?"

"Um... H-Hello? It's me, Neige."

"Oh?" I reflexively sat a little straighter. "Sorry, I thought it was someone else. Hi."

"... Hi."

There was another round of silence, though I could have sworn I have heard fidgeting from the other side.

"Are you the one making this noise or the line?"

"What noise?"

"Rustling, mostly."

"It's me, I think. I am hiding under the blankets."

"Okay, thanks for clarifying that." As she mentioned it, I also realized she sounded a bit strained, like she was trying to whisper loud enough for me to hear, but not too loudly. I ventured an educated guess and asked "It's so that your brother wouldn't notice?"

"Yes."

"I see..." Her single-word answer was so melancholic that it threw my train of thoughts off the rails for a moment, but then I remembered the situation and asked the obvious question I should have in the first place. "So, what do I owe the honor of this late call?"

"Honor?"

"It... It's a figure of speech."

"Oh." Another momentary silence later Snowy took a breath so deep it was audible on my side as well and continued in a whisper. "I wanted to thank you."

"You are welcome," I answered by reflex. "But... about what in particular."

"For helping me. For giving me a chance. It's more than I ever deserved."

"Now, now. Don't put yourself down like that."

"You don't understand... I... I was eavesdropping on you when you talked to the blonde girl. On the roof."

"You mean the princess?"

"Princess?"

"Ah, right. Her name is Eleanor. I just call her that out of habit."

"Like you call me Snowy?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem with that?"

"N-No. I like it."

"I'm glad to hear that. Anyways, you said you were eavesdropping?"

"Sorry. I just... I wanted to thank you in person, so I waited at the entrance, but then I saw you head back and I got curious. I followed after you." I tried to say some filler words to maintain my side of the conversation, but she abruptly continued and cut me off. "I saw you confront her. You stood up for me. And the things you said... It was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Now you are just exaggerating."

"No, I mean it. Thank you."

I couldn't keep myself from chuckling awkwardly.

"Gosh, you are making me blush." She didn't reply to that, so I tried to take the initiative, but something caught my attention. "Wait... are you crying?"

"I'm sorry," she replied in a nasal voice. "I'm just... We barely know each other and you are so nice to me. Too nice. I don't know what to say."

I sighed and switched the phone to my other hand.

"Listen Snowy. I don't know your entire history, true. I don't even know that much about you as a person. What I do know is that you are nice and you deserve a chance as much as anyone else, whatever your family situation might be."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do." I heard her sniffing on the other side and waited for her to finish. "Speaking of which, I was thinking about introducing you to the other girls around Josh."

There was another pause, this time more surprised than awkward.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Well, no, not 100% sure, but it's the most prudent thing to do. If you want to talk to Josh properly instead of just stalking him, you need to be able to interact with them as well. You started off with the wrong foot, but I have already taken care of the princess and the rest should follow suit. Just act like yourself, be nice, and don't lapse into your vamping thing, and they will be your friends before you know it."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure I am."

"Thank you."

"You are once again welcome." I was about to change the topic when there was some extra rustle coming from the other side and Snowy's voice died down to a barely audible whisper.

"I have to hang up. There's someone in the hallway. I'll see you tomorrow."

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By the time I could utter a feeble "Bye," she already hung up. I took the phone from my ear and looked at the caller ID. I didn't remember giving her my number, but now at least I had hers as well. I was in the middle of saving it into my contacts list when the phone rang again; startling me to the point I almost let it slip out of my hand. I grabbed hold of it mid-flight with a stifled curse and took a look at the screen, this time making sure to check the ID. After that I raised it to my ear and said;

"You know, I love these evening talks, but we should really bring them an hour earlier. You are not getting any quality sleep like this."

"Sure," my assistant answered immediately. "I tried calling you before. Who were you talking to?"

"Straight to the point, aren't you? Snowy called."

"Did she forget to say something on the roof?"

"So you thought the letter was from her too?" I let out a purposefully loud relieved sigh. "Thank goodness, I thought it was just me."

"So she wasn't the one who wrote the letter?"

"Nope. It was the princess." I could hear her clicking her tongue. "What?"

"Nothing," She answered even more flatly than usual. "What did she want?"

At this point I told her everything that happened after she left in the most extensive and accurate manner possible. Well, fine, I might have changed a few things when I talked about our encounter with the goldfish poop gang, mainly to further emphasize my stellar wit and disarming charm, but I stayed true to the original spirit of the events, so it was all good in the end. Telling the entire story took about ten minutes.

"... and then I told Sebastian that he should really get a handlebar mustache to complete the look."

"What did he say to that?"

"I don't know, I was running at that point."

"Why must you antagonize people at random?"

"Because it's hilarious."

Judy didn't respond to that, but instead she took a sharp left turn in the conversation and said, "Are you still saying you are not playing favorites?"

"With the princess?"

"Not her. With the stalker girl."

"Her name is... well, actually her name is not Snowy, but that's beside the point. Also, I am not playing favorites. I thought I made that clear during lunch break."

"Then you need to re-evaluate your standards of ‘playing favorites', because it sure looks like that from where I'm standing."

"Oh please. I'm just being helpful."

"Are you sure?"

I let out a sharp breath and leaned back in my chair. "Listen, if you want to say something, just say it."

"I think you are getting too involved."

Her answer was instantaneous. I was expecting at least some hesitation. I had to conclude that she had to be waiting for me to give her the go all along.

"Fine, fine. I might have involved myself more than strictly necessary, but it was mostly for my own peace of mind. Did you want to keep watching Snowy ineffectually stalk Josh until something stupidly dramatic happened? Or stupidly comedic? Or just stupid in general?"

"Even if that happens, it's their business. Weren't we supposed to only observe?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"You specifically hid your amnesia and theories from others to keep our observations unbiased. By meddling like this you are—"

"Fine, fine. I get it. Geez... When did you become such a stick-in-the-mud?"

"It's my job to keep you straight. I get paid for it."

"True enough." I paused to take a big breath and clean my head. "Fine, no more meddling. I will introduce Snowy to the gang tomorrow because I already promised, but I wouldn't interfere after that."

"No more chaperoning."

"Right."

"And definitely no more flirting."

"I still have no idea why you have this weird idea about me."

"The fact that you can't perceive the problem is a problem in and of itself."

"But I don't flirt."

"Tell that to—" It seemed like Judy finally noticed that her voice was getting pretty heated, so she quickly toned it down to her usual monotone. It still sounded a little strained though. "Never mind. It's getting late."

"Hey! Don't just end your sentence like that and leave me hanging!"

"Good night chief. I am going to get some quality sleep now."

"Haaah... Good night, sleep well."

There was an affirmatory grunt and then she cut the line. I sighed and put the phone down back onto the desk. I knew that she was right. Not the flirting part, that was still dead wrong and a misunderstanding of epic proportions, but she was right about my involvement. I let myself get carried away and got myself involved with Snowy's and Josh's issues too closely. I had to agree, I really should take a step back.

With that in mind, I returned to my computer screen with renewed determination and opened my browser again. Where was I again? Oh, right...

"Maybe she is a variation of the ‘Femme Fatale'...?"

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